An immigration choose in Louisiana stated she would terminate the case in opposition to Mahmoud Khalil if the federal government doesn’t present proof this week justifying their tried deportation of the Columbia College scholar activist.
At a listening to Tuesday in Louisiana, Choose Jamee Comans gave the federal government 24 hours to offer proof displaying that Khalil, a 30-year-old authorized everlasting resident, needs to be expelled from the nation for his function in campus protests in opposition to Israel and the battle in Gaza. If the proof doesn’t assist his elimination, she stated, “then I am going to terminate the case on Friday.”
Khalil has been held in a distant detention facility in Jena, Louisiana since his March 8 arrest by federal immigration authorities, the primary in a rising variety of tried deportations in opposition to foreign-born college students who joined pro-Palestinian protests or expressed criticism of Israel.
Whereas the Trump administration has advised that Khalil’s function as a spokesperson for protesters proved that he was “aligned with Hamas,” they’ve but to supply proof for the declare.
At Tuesday’s listening to, an lawyer for Khalil, Marc Van Der Hout, stated he had “not received a single document” in response to his request for “evidence and assertions” within the case. “We cannot plead until we know what the specific allegations are,” Van Der Hout stated.
“I’m like you Mr. Van Der Hout, I’d like to see the evidence,” the choose replied.
Khalil, who wore a navy blue T-shirt over a beige sweatshirt, spoke solely briefly to request that his spouse be permitted distant entry to the listening to. The choose obliged, noting that greater than 600 individuals have been awaiting entry to the continuing in a digital foyer. “This is highly unusual,” Comans stated.
Khalil’s detention has sparked fury amongst free speech advocates, who accuse the Trump administration of looking for to squelch criticism of Israel by labeling peaceable activists as terror-supporters. Khalil, a global affairs graduate scholar, served as a negotiator and spokesperson for scholar protesters at Columbia, however was not amongst these arrested and has not been accused of any crime.
Practically 100 protesters have been arrested Thursday following a sit-in at Trump Tower in Manhattan to demand the discharge of Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil.
In looking for to deport Khalil and different scholar activists, the Trump administration has relied on a rarely-used statute that authorizes the Secretary of State to expel noncitizens who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
They’ve alleged, with out providing proof, that Khalil’s outstanding function in anti-Israel protests amounted to assist for Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza and attacked Israel in October 2023.
Khalil and others concerned within the protests have repeatedly denied claims of antisemitism.
In a letter dictated from jail final month, Khalil stated his detention was a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
As Khalil’s immigration case performs out in Louisiana, his attorneys have additionally challenged his detention and potential deportation earlier than a federal choose in New Jersey. That choose final week rejected the Trump administration’s effort to switch jurisdiction of the authorized battle to Louisiana, however has but to rule on the petition for his launch.
